Fiddlers young and less young from the Ozarks and across Middle America will compete Saturday in the third annual Firehouse Fiddle Contest at Firefighters Union Hall.

While the contest carries substantive prize money in open, senior, junior and peewee divisions, the aim of the event is to preserve and sustain the old music, said organizer Josh Gilbert of the Springfield Old-Time Music Society.

“Our big push is to keep the traditional music alive, inform the public that we’re still out there, and there’s still some good stuff to be heard — not to let the traditions die out,” he said.

The contest should draw roughly 40-60 entrants from Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Arkansas and Tennessee, as well as Missouri, Gilbert said. The event begins at 11:30 a.m., followed by an old-time dance competition. The festivities may go into the evening with a jam, he said.

Gilbert mentioned three fiddlers as a sampling of what’s in store:

Trustin Baker, an award-winning fiddler from Birch Tree, will compete in the junior division (ages 11-16). “He’s setting the world on fire with his fiddle, probably one of the best junior fiddlers I’ve never seen,” Gilbert said. Baker is part of the acclaimed Baker Family Band that has performed widely, including at festivals at Silver Dollar City.

Jeremy Myers from the Sparta area, an exponent of the old-time fiddling genre, is making his first foray into the contest arena. “My whole thing is to get a lot of these traditional fiddlers to come up and share their wealth of knowledge of these old tunes,” Gilbert said.

By auctioning pies, passing the hat at monthly shows at Firefighters Union Hall and other measures, the society raises funds throughout the year for contest prize money.

The contest not only exposes people to the music, Gilbert said: “It gives the contestants a chance to show off their skills and show off some tunes you haven’t heard for quite a while. It’s fun, and it’s a good family environment.”